January 01, 2009

Chtenia 5: Literal Poem Translations


Holiday Tree

Raissa Kudasheva
Line by line literal translation

Shaggy branches bend
Down to the children's heads;
Rich beads shine
With the play of fire;
One ball hides behind another
And one star --behind another.
Bright strands swing
Like golden rain...
To play, and enjoy themselves
The children have gathered here.
And to you, Beautiful-tree,
They swing their song.
It resounds and expands,
The chorus of children's voices
And, glowing, it sways
The luxurious decoration of the tree.

Song

A spruce tree was born in the forest, in the forest it grew,
In the winter and summer it was tall and graceful and green!
The snowstorm sang songs to her: sleep, Spruce tree lully lay!
The frost wrapped her in snow: be careful lest you freeze.
The coward gray bunny hopped under the Spruce tree.
At times the wolf himself, the angry, wolf galloped by!

More gaily and amicably
     Sing children.
The Tree will more quickly dip
     Its branches.

In it are shining walnuts
     Golden ones.
Who here is not happy to see
     The green Spruce.

Hark! Snow in the dense wood is creaking under runners,
A horse with shaggy legs is hurrying, running,
The horse is hauling wood, on top of the lumber is a peasant man.
He cut down our Spruce tree at the very root...
Now you are here, all dressed up, you have come to us for the holiday.
And you have brought, much, much happiness to the children.

More gaily and amicably
     Sing children.
The Tree will more quickly dip
     Its branches

Pick for yourself
     What you like
Oh, thank you,
Beautiful Spruce Tree!

Translation by Lydia Razran Stone

Subscribe Here

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955